Phantasm
by the Red Nothing
Summary: (Sorta Falcofic, MAY turn into KattxFalco) A member of the Starfox Team is killed, when there SHOULD be a time of peace. How much power, exactly, remains in the allegedly extinct Venomanian Empire? And when the Starfox numbers three, new allies may come i
1. Prolouge

**_Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Starfox characters; They are property of Shigeru Miyamoto and his character department. I have created new characters to fill in spaces that are needed in this story but were not in the game, although they will not, aside from perhaps a name mention, be featured in this chapter._**

**__**

Through the dead silent black veil of nothingness known more widely than anything else as Outer Space, a gigantic white ship floated on, its engines roaring without a sound in the vacuum. Huge letters on the side, proclaiming what it carried within its breast to any passing ship, any user of a telescope from any distant planet, and the boldness of the letters proclaiming the power. 

  
**S  
  
T  
  
A  
**

**R  
  
F  
  
O  
  
X  
**

Although now, more than anything else in this existence, it carried within itself a grievance. 

**__**

**_~Phantasm~_**  
  
Almost as soundless inside as out... 

  
"_DAMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!!"  
  
_**WHAM.**

A flourish of royal blue feathers drifting downward and a tiny grunt of pain accompanied the fist of Starfox Team Lieutenant Falco Lambardi as it slammed into the titanium-chromium alloy that made up one of the six enclosing sides of his room. He leaned his forehead against the wall as water began to well up just above the red eye-markings that were found in rare examples of the Avian race, but had been passed down to Falco through his mother's father. The tears rolled down his beak as he quietly cursed himself for being the biggest jackass this side of the galaxy.  
  
"It wasn't your fault," a hesitant voice floated to his ears from behind him. Falco didn't turn around.  
  
"Katt."  


The pink-furred Felician nodded quietly, and though the Lieutenant couldn't see her movement, he somehow felt it.  
  
"Bellatino let me in," she explained in a whisper. Falco's eyes darted to the side, his ears tracking her footsteps across the single sheet of material that made up the floor of his bunk. "He told me you were in here."   
  
Falco chuckled weakly as he pushed himself off of his slump against the wall and turned, leaning his back against it, thrusting his chaffed hands into the pockets of his jacket. He tilted his head back and seemed to be gazing at the ceiling, though his eyes were closed.   
  
"Slip's dad showed up?" He managed. He felt her presence settle against the wall a bit away from him, her normally flirtatious self totally and completely absent. She didn't have to strut about as usual as if they were lovers: Now she was doing what she had to by acting as what she really was, his friend.   
  
"Everyone showed up," she stated. "Bellatino, Cleo, Mrs Mc-C, Bill Grey, Ystil -everyone." She sighed a little as the humming silence set in around them. "The only person who didn't come was the general, but he sent the leaders of both the Katinian Husky and Bulldog Units."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Bill would have come anyway," Falco said at length.  
  
"I know," came Katt's immediate but gentle reply.  
  
More silence. 

Katt's lips moved quietly for a moment before any sound came out. "We should go... They're having a banquet in the hall in his honor... Before they..."   
  
The silence continued. Katt watched as Falco inhaled slowly, deeply, head still pointed upward, leaning against the cool metal of the wall. A slightly bloodied hand snaked out of his pocket and ran across the medals that were pinned to the right breast of his jacket. They were all in the shape of the Starfox Team Seal, an "SF" seal with wings on either side. There were countless medals with green wings, and three large ones with wings of gold.   
  
But Falco's fingers ghosted over the seven of red. 

"Hey, Katt...?" He whispered hoarsely, without opening his eyes.   
  
"Yeah?" She replied so quietly it may have been Falco's imagination. She closed her eyes as she felt Falco's larger form slump against her, his head buried in her shoulder, arms limp at his sides, as she felt her comrade's pain flow into her. She put a paw on his back, soothingly.  
  
"I'm glad you came," he choked out. "I really am."  
  
They stood in the perpetual silence like that, broken only by Falco's quiet sobs and Katt's _Maa maa _'s for perhaps a quarter of an hour. Then, slowly, Falco Lambardi pulled away from the comfort of his friend and drew himself up to his full, towering height. His tears still pooled in his eyes, but those eyes were now alight with a steely determination that could have melted a freighter.  
  
"Let's go give ol' Peppy one last hurrah." Without looking back, he walked to the transport chute with determined strides, pressed "down", and went. Katt gazed after him for a moment.  
  
"I can't believe that they're back," she whispered to herself now, as she, too, followed Falco to send off their fallen comrade. 

**__**

**_~TBC~  
_**

_Maa maa -_ A Japanese phrase that's sorta like, "It's OK, it's OK..." , meant to soothe.**_  
_**

Okie dokie, I find it _really_ weird I never wrote a SF fic before this. Wait, I did. _Starfox: Andross' Revenge _was the first fanfic I ever wrote. It was written in a little blue notebook, and was _extremely _long. It was probably just as poorly written as it was dragging, as I was in fifth or sixth grade when I wrote it, but I still remember reading it to the neighbor's kids and their faces gleaming during the battlescenes and them even tolerating the mush.   
  
So this is a total revamp of that story. More will be explained later on; This'll mostly be action, but it may also turn into a FalxKatt thing -it depends on what the reviewers want, ne_?  
  
~Akai, the President of the StarWing Team (back in fifth grade)  
_


	2. Farewell

**_Disclaimer: Blah, blah, they're not mine. Any relatives (save for Belatino and (duh) Fox's dad) of the Star Fox Team are my brainchildren, although I won't claim full-credit to them, because their species and gender were already made for me. However, Ystil is entirely my creation._**

**__**

**_IMPORTANT NOTE: I am giving the anthros that did not have them (only the Avians were previously named) race _**

**_names. They're mostly loosely derived from Greek or Latin, but some I scrambled, some were sorta random, and some I got in REALLY bizarre ways. For your convenience, here's the Furry List. :p_**

**__**

**_Avian - Bird-anthro_**

**_Atroxian - Leopard-anthro  
Tendak - Mouse or rat-anthro_**  
**_Lupian - Wolf-anthro  
Felecian - Cat-anthro_**

**_Gamrige - Pig-anthro  
Atuetor - Lizard-anthro_**

**_Sapin - Monkey anthro  
Lapin - Rabbit- anthro_**

**_Bolg - Frog or toad - anthro._**

**_Cacian - Fox-anthro_**

**_There, that should do it for now..._**

**_  
Other Semi-Important Note: I have not played this game in about, oh, a year. So if I screw up here and there, please correct me -GENTLY. ;.;_**

**_  
And note to everyone who reviewed: Thank you!! ^______^   
  
Dr Bross and RcA: Thanks tons. ^_^ And, I dunno, I kinda like Falco Katt... Because I have a theory on why she acts like she does. ~_^  
  
The Skiver: You'll find out in this chapter. ^_~_**

**__**

**_~_\V/_~_**

All that is gold does not glitter.  


  
A gigantic planet in the Lylat System, its orbit the widest around Solar. Much larger than its other rival in size, McBeth, the planet Xodius covered in a thick golden haze of poison, earning it its more commonly referenced name. 

Venom. 

  
**_~Phantasm~_**

  
Just below the carbon-monoxide hazes, a towering building stood. This was not as it was in the days Venomanian Empire: It was not located underground, nor was it camouflaged in sandy tones as Andross' fortresses had been three years before.  
  
It was tall. 

Pitch black. 

__

_Defiant._  
  
Deep within its catacombs was a throne room built of black marble. Hundreds of Sapins, Atueaors, and the gods only knew what else stood at attention, armed to the teeth. Three figures stood before the throne, two Atueaors and a Gamrige, obviously of great importance, but they their heads were bowed before the figure that sat upon it. 

It was a Sapin of great size. He looked as though he had suffered battles, but not a huge number. A strange device was attached to his head, wires going in and connecting to a machine next to his right arm. He wore a great black cloak, and his 

breathing was heavy. 

  
"So," the figure drawled. The three kneeling cringed visibly -to think short years ago, two of those three had been superior to their new lord. "How did it go...?"  
  
The Gamrige and an Atueaor shifted their eyes uneasily, but the last Atueaor, seemingly their leader, emitted a low-throated growl. With a yelp, the Gamrige spoke up.  
  
"Peppy Hare of the Starfox Team is dead, Lord Andrew."  
  
There waas a murmur throughout the motley crowd, sounding more like a hiss than anything else. Perhaps beneath the strange helmet, Andrew's eyes flashed. But then he began to laugh giddily.  
  
"Eee hee hee! _Snort!_ We got 'im! We got one of 'em! Heehee!" He cackled in a most unlordly manor; Then he quickly reached out and flipped a switch on the machine attached to his head. With a brief spark, the blue electrical charge flew to his brain, bringing him back to his senses.  
  
"Ahem," he said slowly, his armies wisely acting as if the previous incident had never occurred. "This has bode quite well, my old comrade, Pigma Dengar." He scrutinized the veteran Leon Patowlski, and the recently promoted Camian Sakkaro -Andrew's replacement- the two other members of the Starwolf Team. 

__

_Two._

"Mister Pakowlski," Andrew said in a sickeningly sweet voice. Leon swallowed. "Wherever is your leader, Captain O'Donnel, _mm_?"  
  


"My Lord," Leon managed, trembling. He shook harder as Camian covered his eyes and Pigma scooted off to hide under a table, unnoticed.  
  
"He has fled."  


**_~(SF)~  
_**

Three figures stood solemnly on the edge of the cargo bay of Great Fox, standing tall, a group of about ten others watching a ways behind, silently. Fox McCloud stood outmost, Falco to his down-right, Slippy to his down-left, forming a V-shape. Before Fox there lay an airtight gray box, draped in red cloth, the symbol of the Starfox Team, a red vixen with wings, at its feet, and on top, the Starfox Team Seal, the circle with wings, this time red.   
  
There was a silent pause. Fox's eyes gazed out into space, as if he could see his fallen comrade there, somewhere, calling to him... 

  
Fox choked on his words as he spoke, but somehow, even then, sounding like the pillar of strength he truly was:  


  
"Lambuxio 'Peppy' Hare of the Lapin race served in the ranks of the elite mercenary Starfox Team for over forty years." His voice dropped to a whisper. "He flew with my dad..."  
  
Fox bowed his head for a moment before standing strong, almost glowing. His barked voice pierced through the entire cargo bay, echoing across the walls, and seeming to even carry through the vastness of space. 

  
"At the age of sixty-five Peppy was KIA, on a routine sweep of the nebula known as Sector V in the Archinean System. Four fighters flew out of the blackness and engaged us in a surprise attack." He fell silent. Katt saw Falco clench and unclench his fist at his side.  
  
"He fought bravely, but was swarmed by three of the four fighters we call the Wolfen III's." There was a murmur through some of the people in the small crowd, but most were too grieved to speak.   
  
"There was an explosion... And..."  
  
Slippy was crying openly, his hat over his chest. Falco stood like Fox, though tears streamed silently down his cheeks.  
  
They fell from Fox's eyes as well.  
  
"There ended the life of our advisor, senior, team member, buddy... Peppy Hare." Fox lifted a small switch from his pocket. He mouthed something that was thought to be a prayer before pressing a clawed finger down on the button. With a slight hiss, the decorated casket slid off into space, to drift in peaceful nothingness for all eternity.   
  
_Uncle Pep..._

**_~(SF)~  
  
_**In all actuality, the banquet wound up being after Peppy's send-off instead of before it. It was held in the great hall of Great Fox, a huge circular table at its center. At each compass direction of the round table, a cloth was draped over a chair: Gold at the north, red at the south, green at the east, and blue at the west. The seating was as follows:  
  
Fox sat at the head of the table, in the gold-draped chair to the north. To his immediate left sat a rather elderly vixen, gray of fur, who was anxiously peering at a petite figure at the opposite side of the circle. This silvery Cacian was none other than Fox's mother, Shira McCloud -fondly referred to as 'Mrs Mc-C' by many of the team members. To Fox's right sat William Grey, more commonly called 'Bill', a Tendak of high rank in the Conerian Army; He was the leader of one of Coneria's elite fighter squads, the Bulldog Unit, and also a very dear fried of Fox's. 

To Bill's right was a youngish Atroxian, pure white with eyes of palest blue. Her name was Ystil, and she was the commander of the Husky Unit, The Conerian Army's other Katina-based elite squadron. Many of the enemy -and the lower allies- knew and feared her strange-sounding name, but few knew, except for those in the Husky Unit (or Bulldog) itself that the owner of its name was female. Ystil was the youngest daughter of a nomad tribe that had lived on Fortuna, and she usually kept to herself, mysterious and aloof. 

Then was the blue-draped chair. In it sat Falco Lambardi, second-in-command of the Starfox Team, quietly eating his meal. He was, for the most part, silent, save for occasionally asking Katt Monroe -to his right- to pass him the this or the that. Katt would always get it for them, even if it meant cross-table negotiations -because Katt was the only one Falco spoke to, even 

if the dish was easily nearer to Ystil or someone else close-ish by. 

The bouncing figure to Katt's right, the object of Mrs. McCloud's maternal stares, was a young Cacian named Anki McCloud, Fox's adopted 'sister.' Only about five or six, Mrs. McCloud had adopted her shortly after Fox's departure to the academy, for company and love, as her husband and son were now both gone. Anki loved visiting her big brother, and was also quite fond of Katt. Mrs McCloud was keeping an eye on her daughter more for Katt's sake than for Anki's -the girl was known to be a veritable source of energy. 

The chair draped in red between Anki and Rob was respectfully left empty. 

The bulky android was SCHZ-COTAP #64002361, pilot of Great Fox. As SCHZ-COTAP #64002361 was a _bit _hard to pronounce (or remember, for that matter; Only Slippy could recite his name from memory), the well-liked robot had been dubbed 'Rob 64', or just 'Rob.' Rob did not need to eat, but he was there more for ceremony's sake. Also, he was the object of interest of one Belatino Toad, the ingenious Bolg that was the father of Slippy. He was widely respected as the greatest -known- mechanic, and he and his son, working alone, had developed the Blue Marine, the submersible of the Starfox Team. He showed great curiosity in Rob's workings, and was constantly commenting this to his son, who was seated in the green-draped chair to his right. 

Slippy's hat was again off, mostly due to the presence of his fussy mother, Cleo Toad. Cleo had been worried since her son had joined the Starfox Team at the young age of eleven, due to his mechanical mind, but now that the boy was fifteen, she had given him more room to 'leave the nest', so to speak. Ha ha, just joking there -she was still as finicky as ever, and kept on remarking her opinions of her son's etiquette to Shira on her right. 

"Look at that, how he holds his fork!" She exclaimed to Shira McCloud, as if she were informing the other mother that her son were an undercover spy and perhaps illegitimate child to Andross himself. "I cannot _believe _I raised that boy myself!"  
  
"_Moooooooooooooooooooooooooom!_" Slippy groaned as he squeezed his eyes shut, willing the embarrassment to all go away. There was a bit of chuckling, and Fox even managed to smile a bit. Falco, however, sighed with disgust and continued to halfheartedly scoot his food about his plate with his knife. 

There was a loud scraping noise as Ystil pushed out of her chair and stood up. Her eyes were searing as she flicked her snowy tail idly.  
  
"I know we all grieve for Sir Lambuxio," she stated in her voice as cold as her homeland, not caring to read the others' expressions, "But we have certain matters to discuss."  
  
There was a long silence.  
  
"All right folks," Fox said levelly. "I'd like everybody except for military professionals to leave now -please exit via the docking bay."   
  
Cleo croaked. "I don't know how to fly though -I came here with my husband!" Mr. Toad would be quite needed for his mechanical skills.  
  
"I'll fly you home," said Shira. Cleo blinked in surprise.  
  
"You can _fly a spacecraft?_" Fox found himself smiling for the second time that day as his aged mother drew herself to her full height, no longer looking rickety at all, but a force to be reckoned with. Anki darted about her legs, but did not lessen the effect.  
  
"Of course; You didn't think my boy got it all from his father, did you?"  
**_  
A/N: For clarification, Ystil is a snow leopard._**


End file.
